


Baking Session

by poor_sickies



Series: Bad Things Happen [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Baking, Bullying, Gen, Pre Kerberos, garrison era, minor injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 15:19:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16121243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poor_sickies/pseuds/poor_sickies
Summary: Hunk isn’t indifferent to that one quiet kid sitting by himself at the common room ditching class. So he invites him to help him bake.Prompt: bullyingFind me on Tumblr at @poor-sickies





	Baking Session

Times like these are when Hunk really enjoys being in the engineer program. Of course, engineering is his passion, along with cooking, and he loves learning more about complex machinery and systems, but he has to admit the free Friday afternoons are a great bonus. Lance is always telling him how lucky he is for not having the extra pilot class in that schedule, and Hunk can’t agree more, at least judging by Lance’s face every time he arrives at their dorm Friday night after the simulator.

So when he goes in one of the common rooms to get a book on spaceship parts he had left there, he’s really surprised to see Keith, of all people, sitting on the floor, hunched over himself. 

Keith isn’t the type to talk much, and doesn’t get along with many students at the Garrison. His flying is incredible, and he knows it. It’s not like he goes around, boasting himself at every chance, in fact, he is extremely quiet, but he fully knows the extent of his talents. And that, while it doesn’t bother Hunk in the slightest, makes many other cadets dislike him. 

Either way, he is in the pilot program, and he is supposed to be having a class now. So why is he here? And more importantly, why does he look like that? Hunk can’t see his face, but Keith his practically curled up in a ball on the floor, head on his knees, long strands of hair covering his forehead. One of his hands seems to be tucked in against his chest, and the other hugs his knees. He doesn’t seem to be aware of Hunk’s presence either.

Hunk looks around him. It’s three in the afternoon, and everyone who isn’t in the pilot program having class is probably either at the gym or closed off in their room. No one comes to the common rooms at this time.

So, Hunk moves closer with careful steps, and quietly pulls a chair to sit on.

“Hey,” he greets softly, “is everything okay?

This seems to startle Keith a little, and Hunk can hear the slight hitch in his breath, before he lifts his head up.

His usual scowl doesn’t seem so threatening now, like he’s trying to appear indifferent, but he’s not quite managing, and his eyes are red rimed and wet. That’s what Hunk notices first. Then he notices the blooming bruise on the side of his jaw.

“Y-Yeah,” he answers, straightening up, avoiding Hunk’s eyes. “I’m fine.”

“You’re supposed to be in class,” Hunk says, trying to take in every alarming thing about Keith. It’s pretty obvious something happened. Maybe it’s something about his family? Hunk doesn’t know a lot about Keith’s parents. He does seem to get pretty upset whenever someone mentions them, like two days ago, when-

Oh.

Could it be that he had gotten into a fight with someone?

After their punching match, Griffin and his friends have been acting particularly annoying towards Keith. A lot of looks in his direction, and some secretive smiles between them.

“How do you know that?” Keith frowns.

“You’re a pilot, I know the schedules. So I know you’re ditching.”

“It’s the first this semester,” Keith mumbles, “so it’s fine.”

First year cadets had up to three periods they could skip in a semester, in case they weren’t feeling well, or needed to finish some work. They did have to compensate those hours on another time, depending on the class, but if they skipped more than that in a semester, then disciplinary action was in order.

Keith never skips. Hunk always sees him in the classes they have together, and from what he’s heard, they guy is pretty punctual. After some incidents with the higher ups last semester, Keith seems to be wanting to cause the least possible trouble for himself. But he’s skipping now.

Hunk sighs. They’ve rarely talked, and Keith rarely talks in general. He knows that whatever is wrong with Keith, he’s not going to just spill it out. Partly because they barely know each other, partly because of Keith’s own reserved nature. So he tries another approach. 

“Is there anything I can do?”

Keith looks up again, this time surprised.

“What?”

“Look, I - I know that something obviously happened. I asked if you were fine but you don’t wanna talk about it, and, that’s okay, it really is.”

Keith seems like he’s about to say something in protest, but Hunk doesn’t let him.

“But, you’re hurt,” Hunk motions to Keith’s jaw, “and you’re clearly not in the best mood, so. I don’t have classes now, so just, you know, whatever. I just…want to help.”

Keith stares at him in disbelief.

Hunk swallows. Keith doesn’t look convinced. But damnit, he just wants to do something. Keith may be quiet, and reserved and rather cold, but he’s not a bad guy. He just seems… lonely most of the time. Apart from Lieutenant Shirogane, he doesn’t seem to have anyone to talk to.

And Hunk knows too well what it’s like to not have anyone to talk too. The engineering program starts earlier in the year that the pilot program, so there were still four or five weeks that Hunk got through without really talking to anyone. Of feeling lonely and missing his parents and siblings. It was only when Lance came along and the classes were divided that he finally felt like he belonged.

“You like chocolate cake?” He blurts out. “I,I mean, Rosa, the cook she, uh, lets me go to the kitchen sometimes. I like cooking and baking. And I know my way around the kitchen, so… besides at this hour it’s probably empty, they’re all cleaning up the canteen anyways… we could go in and get some dessert…? I mean, I’d have to bake it, but I’ve been meaning to, I wanna send some to my family - sorry. I’m rambling-”

Keith sighs. He seems to be at least considering, so that’s good. By his reaction, Hunk guesses that he isn’t exactly used to having this kind of invitation.

It makes Hunk sad.

“Alright,” Keith gets up, left hand pushing to floor to stand, his right still strangely tucked in close to his body, “let’s go,”

Hunk’s eyes light up. “Yeah? Alright! We’re going.”

They walk through the halls silently. Keith keeps looking down, and still seems nervous. Hunk doesn’t know what to say. Fortunately, the kitchen is in the same building, so it doesn’t take long.

As Hunk predicted, the kitchen is empty. Hunk starts gathering what he needs from a small cabinet, and sets it on the metal table. Then, he stands in front of the fridge, calculating what he needs. 

“So, one hundred grams of cocoa powder, one hundred and fifty of sugar…cream must be here, I need one and a half packages…” 

Keith stares as Hunk mumbles, and seems startled when he snaps out of it and starts placing item after item on the table. 

“Okay!” Hunk exclaims excitedly. “This is gonna take about forty minutes to be ready, so you’re gonna have to wait a bit…”

Keith shrugs. “I can help. You have to tell me what to do though.”

Hunk smiles. This actually might go better than he thought. “Sure! I need you to weight this sugar first. One hundred and fifty grams.”

Keith nods, before pulling up his sleeves and getting to work.

When the mix is finally ready to pour into the cake shape to go in the oven, Hunk has realized two things - first, Keith is pretty great at mixing ingredients. His arm, despite the other still not moving, has a lot of strength in it, so the mix is smooth and creamy, just like Hunk wanted. And second, he’s a pretty good company. Very quiet, but very focused on the task at hand. The silence between them is comfortable, and even Keith seems more relaxed now. 

Hunk closes the oven door, and sets the timer. Then, he hands Keith the mixing bowl, still with some leftover mix. “You can finish it, if you want.”

Keith grabs two spoons, and hands one to Hunk with his left hand. “You too.”

Hunk smiles. They sit, face to face, and dig in. 

“You know, sometimes the mix leftover is the best part,” Hunk laughs. “It’s like a guilty pleasure, because you’re not really supposed to eat it.”

“It’s pretty good,” Keith says.

“So,” Hunk nods towards Keith’s hand, “you’re left handed.”

“I’m pretty much ambidextrous. I write with my left hand, but I use my right more in the simulator.” Keith explains with a shrug.

Hunk’s brows rise up. “Really?! That’s so cool! You also mix ingredients with your left, huh?”

Keith’s expression changes slightly. “Not exactly.”

“Oh…? I saw you using your left though,” Hunk frowns.

Keith doesn’t say a word, and slowly places his right hand on the table, and Hunk lets out a gasp.

It’s red and swollen, and those marks look awfully like a boot. 

“Keith…who did this to you?” Hunk moves closer and touches the hand gingerly. From Keith’s face, it looks like it hurts, and it’s probably why he wasn’t moving it at all during the afternoon.

Keith puts his hand back. “It doesn’t matter.”

Hunk puts the spoon down and walks to the fridge, taking out an icepack, and hands it to Keith. “You should probably go to the nurse though,” he says, as Keith reluctantly accepts the ice and presses it against his hand, “it doesn’t look broken, but it’s probably gonna hurt for a few days.”

“I’m not going to the nurse,” Keith says, “but thanks.”

Hunk stares at him for a moment. It’s ten minutes before the cake is ready, and the leftover mix is gone.

“It was Griffin, wasn’t it?” Hunk asks. It makes sense at least. But it angers Hunk. He doesn’t know exactly the circumstances behind their fight two days ago, but now he knows why James has been acting so weird around Keith. “Look, I can go talk to-”

“You’re not gonna do anything.” Keith interrupts him, perhaps a little too harshly. “I can watch out for myself. Besides, it’s not like he’s gonna go after me again. He just wanted revenge for what happened after that simulation. It’s done.”

“So he and his friends made sure to screw up your right hand to mess with your piloting,” Hunk sneers, “unbelievable.”

Keith shakes his head. “Just - let’s forget about this, okay? I probably shouldn’t have punched him for starters.”

“You guys knew each other before the Garrison, right?” Hunk asks. 

“Yeah,” Keith says, “same class.”

“I don’t know why you punched him, but he seemed to. He was provoking you.”

“Doesn’t matter. I was the one who started the fight.”

“It’s still unfair.”

Keith shrugs.

The timer goes off. “Oh, time to get that cake out!”

Hunk gets up, and kneels to open the oven. Immediately, a sweet chocolate smell fills the kitchen. “Ooh, I think we’re gonna have a few slices right now…” Hunk takes the tray out, carefully, and sets it on the table, closing the oven with his foot. “I’ll send the other half to my parents.”

They sit down again, each one eating his slice, until Rosa stops at the door.

“I see you’ve made more of that cake,” she says with a smile, “but I need to get started on the dinners.”

“We’ll be right out,” Hunk promises. They are both done with their slices, so Hunk packs up the rest of the cake, and he’s about to start washing the dishes when Rosa stops him.

“We’ll take care of those,” she waves him off, “but next time I want a slice too!”

“You get a whole cake next time,” Hunk laughs, “thank you!”

They make their way out of the kitchen, and they’re about to turn a corner for the common room when Keith speaks up. 

“The cake was pretty good.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” Hunk grins. Keith is still holding the icepack against his hand, but he does seem a lot less tense now. 

“I should go,” Keith says quickly, “I have to go meet Shi - uh, Lieutenant Shirogane.”

“Oh, alright,” Hunk nods, “I should probably go and get some homework done. It was nice baking with you.”

Keith smiles a little. “Yeah. You too. Thanks.”

He leaves, slowly, and Hunk goes back to his room. He vaguely considers telling Lance about his baking session with Keith, but decides against it when Lance comes in with the most tired look he’s ever seen in a while. 

“Ugh, this simulation was horrible…” Lance throws himself into bed, face first on his pillow, “they had us repeating the same course until it was absolutely perfect. I’m so tired…”

Hunk chuckles. “That’s rough, man. Just get some rest.”

“But I’m hungry…” Lance moans, dragging 

“You want some chocolate cake?”


End file.
